Following certain types of surgery, especially surgery involving the removal of tissue, the resulting body cavity may fill with fluid. Examples of such surgery include mastectomies and lumpectomies. To relieve swelling and infection that may occur if the fluid is left in the body, one end of a drainage tube, which may be two feet long or longer, is inserted through a surgical incision into the cavity and is normally sutured, or stitched directly to the skin at the surgery site, and the other end of the drainage tube is attached to a post-surgical fluid drainage bulb or plastic bottle receptacle for collecting the fluid. Such drainage bulbs, also known as bulb drains or suction reservoirs, sometimes marketed under the names JACKSON-PRATT, HEMOVAC and DAVOL, are capable of creating a negative pressure in the body cavity to facilitate drainage and hold the skin against the muscle until it heals.
Some postoperative procedures require multiple tubes and drainage bulbs. Depending on the surgery and the amount of fluid buildup expected. The number of drainage tubes and receptacles utilized can vary. When many drainage tubes are utilized, the managing of the tubes and their associated receptacles pose certain problems. In the past, it was common to pin the receptacles to the clothing or gown worn by the patient or to the bandage for the incision itself. While not very comfortable, this procedure is somewhat effective in the hospital where an open gown is worn, thereby easing the ability of the patient to accommodate basic bodily functions. Furthermore, the awkwardness and discomfort is increased with multiple sets of bottles and tubes. In addition, outside of the hospital, where patients wear standard, relatively constricting clothes, it is not practicable to use such means to support drain bulbs. With the advent of insurance company mandates on shorter hospital stays for many types of surgeries, the problems associated with supporting drain bulbs have become more prevalent.
It is not uncommon for a postoperative patient to be discharged from the hospital or clinic with four or more suction reservoir bulbs pinned to their clothing or post surgical dressings. For example, the plastic tabs or loops of the drain bulbs may be pinned directly to a wide elastic band wrapped around the patient's chest. In order to shower, this patient must first unpin the bulbs and then remove the elastic band. At this point there is nothing to attach the bulbs to, and the pa ent or an assistant may be required to hold the bulbs and tubes in their hands while the patient attempts to shower, which is extremely cumbersome and runs the risk of dropping the bulbs.
Others have attempted to overcome these problems by providing belts or harnesses that encircle the chest area or the waist of a postoperative patient to support fluid drainage receptacles. While these devices may resolve some of the problems associated with supporting post operative drainage receptacle, they are not particularly comfortable after being worn for extended periods of time, can irritate the skin, and due to their structure cannot effectively support a plurality of drainage bulbs at locations adjacent to the body of the wearer to allow easy access and avoid tangling of the drainage tubes.
Accordingly, what is needed in the industry is a lightweight, comfortable support system that is highly customizable to the patient that can be worn in a variety of ways and configurations.